The four of us flew into Montepelier in the South of France on a crisp autumn day! After each boarding an Air France flight from London, L.A., Toronto and New Orleans, we arrived en route to Usclas d’Herault! The Royal Family reunited!! (That being a nickname we adopted in high school after learning about a vulgarly, overindulging queen that we thought we all resembled in eating habits.)

Our beautiful hostess Camille popped the champagne cork and toured us around her grande maison at Place de la Marie in Usclas, a quaint, country village with plane tree lined country roads. A little piece of heaven!

From here we day tripped. First stop being St Guilhem-Le-Desert where we enjoyed wild mushroom omelets in the central square of a medieval village that is on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostella. We visited the Abbey where St Guilhem, cousin of Charlemagne, was entombed. The village, with perfectly manicured cobblestone street and sweeping gorges, an example of nature and history at it’s best!

The seaside town of Agde proved just as picturesque! The highlight being our lunch al fresco along the harbor, where we feasted on raw oysters & whole grilled fish while sipping rosee’ wine and chevre en baguette. Delish!

In Nimes, we strolled along Roman built waterways, white limestone squares and architecture, cobblestone streets all very clean and beautifully preserved. Our long day of shopping topped off with expressos and a chocolate crepe in the shadow of an ancient roman temple dating back to 4AD.

Montpelier proved to be a larger city but just as beautifully preserved! Limestone squares, museum and one quintessential french boutique after another! Though I have to admit that we spent much of our shopping time in Zara, whose selection far surpassed that found in N. America. Definitely more of a European flair!

All in all, we spent 6 fabulous days shopping, indulging in french food and wine and exploring the culture rich area of Languedoc. It was a perfect venue for a girls’ reunion!

Okay, slept 10 hours after the hospital fiasco followed up by a lovely day exploring London. Roamed around the National Gallery with the rented headsets, strolled through Leicester Square, had lunch on an outdoor patio (bundled up) at All Bar One. Seemed rather touristy at first but the food was very good. The menu was a tapas set up. The first two things I ordered were not available but decided instead on the Asian Chop Salad and loved it. Ro had salmon kebabs with roasted beets and moaned and groaned through the whole meal. Wait, maybe that was me. Thoroughly enjoyed this meal and the prices were very reasonable! Portions not very large but that is the way I like it.

Strolled along Oxford Street and then back down New and Old Bond Streets and home. Had early dinner plans to meet my childhood friend from Dubai, Sophie. We met at Zuma for drinks and dinner. All I can say is it is a MUST! Fantastic bar to hang out in if you like to people watch. And the food a real WOW! Fresh, grilled or raw and delicious. Zuma was recommended by a friend who had been in London last summer and it happened to be Sophie’s favorite local restaurant as well. Don’t miss it. Not a bargain but worth the splurge!

Had a great time catching up with Sophie. Amazing how easy it was to pick up where we had left off! People really do not change.